There are numerous different approaches to treating plantar fasciitis, but hot therapy and cold therapy are two of the most common. And there’s a good reason! Both are very affordable and completely natural!

Hot Therapy for Plantar Fasciitis

It’s important to begin with this idea: no single treatment for plantar fasciitis works for everyone, and oftentimes it’s a combination of treatments that will work best.

If you are doing contrasting baths, end the hot baths by soaking your heels in cold water

Another hot therapy approach is a simple massage; this doesn’t necessarily apply heat, but it will apply friction to the affected heel area and help with plantar fasciitis. You can also place a tennis ball on the ground and gently roll it under your foot for 3-5 minutes; this loosens the fibrous tissue of the plantar fascia and makes it less likely to become irritated.

Heating pads and hot rubs are additional approaches, but again remember the advice above: in some cases, heat-only will soothe and increase the blood supply but may increase throbbing of heel pain, so you want to balance it out with cold therapy techniques.

Cold Therapy for Plantar Fasciitis

The best treatment in the eyes of many medical professionals for plantar fasciitis is the RICE method, outlined below:

Simply, it stands for:

Rest

Ice

Compression

Elevation

Resting is often the hardest part for a lot of plantar fasciitis sufferers, because they tend to be active runners who want to get back at it. It’s also the most crucial part, because if you keep pounding away at sidewalks or trails with heel pain, that heel pain will worsen. Begin with rest, always. Typically 3-7 days is preferential.

Ice is the essence of cold therapy, i.e. applying ice. Typically, 15-20 minutes will be enough to reduce swelling.

Compression involves wrapping the ice in a towel around the affected heel area, and elevation is exactly what you think: lifting your leg onto a chair or something else to elevate the feet above the heart. This allows clean, healthy blood to reach the area afflicted by plantar fasciitis.

16 Comments

I have worn z-coils for 13 years – had immediate relief the first time that I wore them. Now, after all of these years, it is back! Now, I wear with my z-coils a padded rubber sleeve that helps for about 4 hours. This is for everyone else that struggles with PF – I wish you the best.

I am using a compression sock and that has decreased the pain quite a bit. I take it off in the evenings and ice my foot and elevate it. Don’t wear to bed. This and Advil has really helped. You can get the sock online

I have heel Pain – Planter Fascitis since last 6 months. I don’t get relief by Ice Fomantation -3 times a day along with Tb Etova ER (600)- once at night for 15 days + Tb citravite – 3 times a day for 30 days. I am also using Heel Cups with soft shoes & soft sleeper at home. Is it advisable to take steroid Injection? Can I take Heat & Cold Pad alternatively for 10 Minutes? Any other suggestions?

Hi Vinod! Some of our customers have great luck with steriod injections. I would recommend researching them a little bit on your own, and then asking your doctor if it sounds like something that will help. Alternating hot and cold therapy might also provide relief, and if you don’t do stretches, stretching can sometimes provide short term relief and lead to long term improvement in the condition 🙂

I’m not so sure I have pf but I am a little overweight ,haven’t been real active on my feet and just started a job in august almost a month ago and the job is hard on the feet. I’ve had different pains in different parts of my feet. It usually subsides and they feel fine by the time I have to work again until two days ago. I think I strained my feet when I walked and walked pretty fast without stretching first but the pain didn’t really set in until the second half of my shift that night. Then I missed two days. I iced the bottom of my feet after that shift but then yesterday the bottom of my feet felt like.they do when I have scrubbed the dead skin off too hard using a pumice stone (which I dont do anymore ) I’m trying heat now.

Carrie I have pf and when i went to the emergency room the doctor told me to wrap both my feet up with ace bandages and elevate your feet. It really helped me the first night I did it right before bed and slept like that. I tried the heating pad and it does help for a little bit but, like Heel That Pain said get a tennis ball and roll it under your arch and heel it will help. Hopefully this helps you

I have plantar fasciitis and it is excruciating! I work 4 days a week on concrete. I have had two cortizone shots, which have helped. The ice does not make it better, I have switched to heat, which seems to help. I just ordered compression sock, hoping they work. If anyone has any other suggestions I would appreciate it. Thank you.

FK PF. it is ruining my life. i was so active and now i’m a cripple. sorry for my rant, but the reality of living with this condition basically reduces one’s life to being disabled. i’ve resorted to prayer, but that alone hasn’t helped much. i feel as if the ligaments in my outer ankle are being overly stressed. for me, i’m sure a contributing factor was over-supination of my gait. my foot ‘naturally’ rolls to the outside upon strike from walking or running. anyway, thanks for listening to me be a cry baby.

Hi Guys. I am also going through Plantar fasciitis since last 10 months now. I have tried physiotherapy, hot cold therapy, only hot and only icing therapy as well. My physiotherapist said that my calf and thigh muscles are really tight, hence I am doing those stretches to ease these muscles along with towel stretches and other stretches for arch and achilles tendon. I have started mild walking as well since last 2 week’s and it seems to help a bit. I am hoping this schedule of walk in the morning, stretching and hot and cold therapy may be able to ease my plantar fascia. I am dying to start my sports again.

I have had this for 4 months now. Heat works the best for me and Strapping my foot. Look ONLINE ON HOW TO STRAP A FOOT WITH PLANTAR FASCIITIS. It helps with the pain and I could walk normal. I know I know…. I didn’t believe it myself. It mist be strapped for this condition though. Steroid injection for me next I think

I do regularly zumba and even if I have a sedentary lifestyle (office work)I am also a lot on my feet. i have had heel pain in one foot for months now and probably aggravated it as I continued to dance. Initially the pain was only in the morning but of late each time i start walking from short resting period. I also noticed that i have a sore spot, like a lump, on my heel. The physiotherapist tells me that my calves are tight, so she loosened up my calf muscles through painful deep tissue massage and then making me do strengthening exercise. It was getting better until she made me do a toe raise while standing up, by balancing my weight on my heel, right on that painful spot. Now it’s become worse and my foot is hurting at different places (probably coz i am limping). I continue to stretch and dip my foot in hot water. Gives me instant relief but pain returns after some time. Now I don’t even know whether this is PF or something else

I have PF for 4 years, omg this is a punishment from God. I rotate my foot every hour to relieve the pain and it helps, I just started a heat regimen (sleeping with a heating pad under my hea, no conclusive results, but it appears to be helping